Manchester United friendly was fixed by Chinese referee

A corrupt Chinese referee has admitted accepting bribes to fix a Manchester United friendly in 2007.

Rigged: Wayne Rooney scored for Manchester United against Shenzhen FC in 2007, a game a Chinese referee has admitted to fixing 

Huang Junjie, an experienced Chinese official, has admitted receiving bribes to fix a 2007 exhibition match between Manchester United and China's Shenzhen FC as well as a 2009 fixture between Australian A-League club Sydney FC and China's Shanghai Shenhua.

United won the friendly 6-0, with Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, John O'Shea, Chris Eagles and Nani, making his debut for the club, on target.

In addition to those games, Huang admitted to accepting more than £160,000 in bribes to fix two international friendlies as well as six Chinese club matches between 2005 and 2009. There is no suspicion that Manchester United's players or officials knew the game was fixed, or was the subject of suspicious activity. The club are expected to make a statement this afternoon.

According to China's official Xinhua news agency Huang also confessed to accepting bribes from his colleague Zhou Weixin to sway results. Zhou is facing charges of corruption as well as bribing civil servants, Xinhua said.

Hearings into corruption against some of China's top footballing officials commenced on Monday with Zhang Jianqiang, the former head referee of the Chinese Super League, in court to face charges of accepting match-fixing bribes of over £260,000.

Lu Jun, an official who had previously refereed World Cup and Olympic football games, is set to stand trial on Wednesday while about 20 other former officials and referees are to face the courts later this week.
The hearings are part of a crackdown on corruption that have reached the top echelons of the game in China, and led to the downfall of the head of the Chinese Football Association (CFA)
According to state media, CFA officials routinely fixed matches, including national team and league games, by allegedly buying off the teams or referees involved.
Association officials also reportedly accepted pay-offs from players who wanted to be named to the national team – a practice widespread among league clubs also.
Sponsors abandoned the sport, and state television network CCTV refused to broadcast Super League games.
The league hit the headlines this earlier this week with news that Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka had signed for Shanghai Shenhua on a two-year deal worth £175,000 a week.
His former team-mate at Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Michael Ballack is also rumoured to be joining the club next season.
Didier Drogba, whose contract at Stamford Bridge runs out at the end of the season, has also been linked with a move to China after he was offered a three-year deal worth more than £30 million – £200,000 a week.

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy upset with Woodgate decision

McCarthy feels 'let down' by referee

Mick McCarthy hit out at referee Anthony Taylor for failing to send off Jonathan Woodgate after Wolves crashed 2-1 to Stoke.

Woodgate, who had been booked, escaped a second yellow card after bringing down Matt Jarvis to concede a penalty.
Although Stephen Hunt gave Wolves the lead from the spot, Peter Crouch headed Stoke's winner after a Kevin Doyle own goal made it 1-1.
"Woodgate should have been sent off," said Wolves manager McCarthy.
"If it had been outside the box he would have been given a red card. "I don't think Stoke should have had 11 men on the pitch.
"I've asked the referee why Woodgate wasn't booked again, but he said it is between me and him."
Stoke manager Tony Pulis took the decision to substitute former Real Madrid defender Woodgate soon after conceding the 17th minute penalty to save him from being sent off later in the game.

Pulis offers support to McCarthy

"I decided that was the right thing to do," said Pulis after his side's fourth straight league win.
"You have to be brave enough to make decisions. I made it because he was having problems with Matt Jarvis. But he's accepted it.
"His first challenge was a poor challenge [for the booking] and that puts you on edge straight away.
"We had a bit of good fortune there. If he had sent him off, we probably couldn't have argued about it.
"But when I took him off he said 'that's a great decision gaffer' and that's from someone who has played for Real Madrid and is very much part of what we want to do at this club."
McCarthy was also unhappy with Taylor's decision to penalise Wolves captain Roger Johnson which led to Robert Huth's free-kick deflecting off Doyle for Stoke's equaliser.
"I also think Johnson got the ball when a free-kick was awarded against him and then a deflected goal changes the course of the game," added McCarthy.
Wolves remain in trouble near the bottom of the table yet McCarthy is refusing to press the panic button after a fourth defeat in five league games.

We need another 16 points to get to 40 and we will be absolutely delighted again, doing somersaults

Stoke boss Tony Pulis

"I'm pleased with our performance," he said. "I thought we played well. I thought we were excellent.
"I'm not coming here to criticise my lads. I thought they were great. They defended all the free-kicks and corners and were a real threat.
"I don't think the game is going anywhere until that free-kick."
Meanwhile, Stoke have now chalked up four successive Premier League wins for the first time as a result of Crouch's winner - the 99th league goal of his career.
"We have created history again," said Pulis. "It is the first time this club have won four on the trot in the Premier League.
"We need another 16 points to get to 40 and we will be absolutely delighted again, doing somersaults."

Nicolas Anelka to join Shanghai Shenhua on two-year deal

 

Anelka poses with Shanghai Shenhua shirt 

 

Striker Nicolas Anelka will join Shanghai Shenhua in January on a two-year contract after the Chinese club agreed a deal with Chelsea.

The 32-year-old was Avram Grant's first signing at Stamford Bridge in January 2008 and has scored 59 goals in 185 appearances for the London club.
His contract with Chelsea runs out in the summer and he had a transfer request accepted last week.

SPOTLIGHT ON SHENHUA

• First football club in China to be independent of government
• Well-known former players include Ruben Sosa, Carsten Jancker and Jorg Albertz
• Former Crystal Palace, Dundee and Cardiff player Fan Zhiyi began his career there in mid-nineties
• Hongkou Stadium has capacity of 35,000 and staged final of the 2007 Fifa Women's World Cup

Shenhua have already put a picture of Anelka on the front of their website.
Anelka, who joined Chelsea in a £15m switch from Bolton, has been training apart from the first team since manager Andre Villas-Boas accepted his transfer request.
The Frenchman has scored only one goal in 15 games this season, with Didier Drogba, Daniel Sturridge and Fernando Torres preferred to him in attack.

ANELKA'S £86.8m TRANSFERS

• Feb 97: Arsenal (£0.5m)
• Aug 99: Real Madrid (£22.3m)
• Jul 00: PSG (£22m)
• Jun 02: Man City (£12m)
• Jan 05: Fenerbahce (£7m)
• Aug 06: Bolton (£8m)
• Jan 08: Chelsea (£15m)

Shanghai Shenhua finished 11th out of 16 teams in the Chinese league last season.
They are determined to win the league and have already signed Brazilian forwards Cleo and Muriqui, as well as being linked with manager Jean Tigana and a host of other high-profile players, including Anelka's Chelsea team-mate Didier Drogba.

Anelka scores for Chelsea in Carling Cup

Stoke 2 - 1 Tottenham

 
Etherington made 51 appearances as a Spurs players between 1999 and 2003 
 

Tottenham's 11-match unbeaten league run ended as Matthew Etherington scored twice against his old club to hand Stoke a third straight league win.

One of four former Spurs players to feature for the hosts, Etherington tapped in to open the scoring.
He doubled the lead with a scuffed strike from Ryan Shotton's long throw before Emmanuel Adebayor converted a penalty after a foul on Luka Modric.
Tottenham pushed for an equaliser but faded once Younes Kaboul was sent off.
It was a harsh dismissal for a second yellow card but by then the damage had already been done.
The defeat stops Tottenham's winning streak in the league at six games and leaves them five points behind second-place Manchester United with a game in hand.
Stoke appear to have recaptured their early-season form and are now up to eighth in the table.
Their previous two league meetings with Spurs at the Britannia ended in defeat, but it was they who made the more purposeful start on this occasion.

DID YOU KNOW

• Stoke have lost only one of the 22 Premier League matches in which they have led by two goals - against Wolves in October 2009

There was no place in the team for Rory Delap but long-throw duties fell to Shotton and he proved a highly capable replacement.
Only 37 seconds were on the clock when his looping delivery was cleared to Etherington and the 30-year-old's volley drew a diving save from Brad Friedel.
Tottenham were struggling to get out of their own half amid unrelenting Stoke pressure and Shotton, in particular, was proving a constant menace.
Clearly aware of their opponents' strength in central midfield - where Scott Parker, Modric and Rafael van der Vaart have formed one of the division's more fearsome trios - Stoke looked to attack from wide areas at every opportunity.
The tactic paid off when Shotton's cross was flicked by Jon Walters to Peter Crouch and he held off William Gallas before turning the ball through Friedel's legs from a tight angle for Etherington to slam into an empty net.
Replays suggested Crouch may have handled in the build-up, but Stoke deserved their reward for a high-tempo approach that caught Tottenham off guard.
The visitors finally gained an element of control - Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale swapped wings while Modric took greater responsibility - but it was not until Thomas Sorensen saved easily from Van der Vaart on 24 minutes that they managed an attempt on goal.
Sorensen was at full stretch to palm a fizzing Modric drive round the post and gathered comfortably after a turn and shot by the ineffectual Adebayor.
Stoke worked tirelessly to maintain their advantage before going in search of a second, and it arrived when the latest Shotton throw was worked on by Walters and Etherington arrived at the back post to volley past Friedel.
Tony Pulis's men began the second half as they started and finished the first, harrying all over the pitch and Tottenham were push firmly on to the back foot.
But Harry Redknapp replaced Assou-Ekotto and Lennon with Sebastien Bassong and Jermain Defoe, switching his formation from 4-4-1-1 to 3-5-1-2, and the move paid off.
An unmarked Bassong headed over from Modric's corner, Defoe fired over, Ryan Shawcross cleared Bale's cross with a last-ditch header and Parker narrowly failed to connect with Kyle Walker's pinpoint centre.
Their superiority finally told when Glenn Whelan tripped Modric in the box and Adebayor wrong-footed Sorensen from the spot.
Spurs were now encamped in Stoke territory and Parker drew a stunning save from Sorensen, Adebayor curled inches wide and Modric again went close.
A Kaboul shot was cleared off the line by the arm of Ryan Shawcross and Adebayor was incorrectly flagged offside as he rolled in what should have been the leveller.
Referee Chris Foy gave Kaboul a second caution for a challenge on Walters and from that moment the game was up for Spurs, Shawcross heading against the bar as Stoke pressed for a late third.

Santos setback gives Wenger defensive headache

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Arsene Wenger has concerns now Andre Santos is out until 2012

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is facing a defensive crisis after the versatile Andre Santos was ruled out until 2012 at the earliest.
Left-back Santos suffered an ankle injury in the Gunners' final Champions League group stage game against Olympiakos on Tuesday, with scans immediately arranged to uncover the extent of the damage when the Brazilian returned to London.
And Wenger has now revealed that the summer signing will be out for at least three weeks, possibly much longer, after scans revealed more damage than first hoped.
"The bad news we have is that we lost Santos for a while. The ankle injury is more severe than expected," Wenger said. "For how long he will be out I don't know, but it will be more than three weeks that's for sure."
With Bacary Sagna and Carl Jenkinson already sidelined at right-back, and Kieran Gibbs still a few weeks away from returning to the first-team on the other side, Wenger has something of a defensive crisis on his hands.
Thomas Vermaelen and Johan Djourou may be asked to play out of position against Everton this weekend.
"He [Santos] is definitely out for the Christmas period, and with Gibbs still being out - he is not available - we now have a problem on both flanks," the Frenchman noted. "Two right full-backs out and two left full-backs out."
Goalkeepers Vito Mannone (shoulder) and Lukasz Fabianski (cut knee) are also sidelined with injuries they sustained in midweek, so Manuel Almunia has been recalled to the squad and will serve as the back-up to Wojciech Szczesny.
"Almunia will be back in the squad," he said. "Everybody else who was out there in Greece looks available, and the players who stayed at home are available as well."

Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka in talks with Shanghai Shenhua

 
Anelka's camp is discussing image rights with Shanghai Shenhua
 

Nicolas Anelka will decide whether to join Shanghai Shenhua on a three-year deal by the start of next week.

The Chelsea striker's camp is in talks with the Chinese Super League club, who are expected to bring former France midfielder Jean Tigana in as manager.
Neither club has revealed details about the transfer fee but discussions taking place between the player and the club include details on image rights.
Anelka was Avram Grant's first signing at Stamford Bridge in January 2008.

SPOTLIGHT ON SHENHUA

• Shanghai was the first football club in China that was independent from the government
• Well-known former players from Europe include Ruben Sosa, Carsten Jancker and Jorg Albertz
• Former Crystal Palace, Dundee and Cardiff player Fan Zhiyi began his career there in the mid-nineties
• Their Hongkou Stadium has a capacity of 35,000 and staged the final of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup

The French striker, 32, joined in a £15m switch and has scored 59 goals in 185 appearances for the London club.
But he has fallen out of the first-team picture having scored only once in 15 games this season, with manager Andre Villas-Boas favouring Didier Drogba, Daniel Sturridge and Fernando Torres.
Anelka and Chelsea team-mate Alex were told by Villas-Boas last week that they will no longer train with the first-team squad after handing in transfer requests.
The striker would be a free agent next summer, allowing him to sign a pre-contract agreement with a club from January.
Shanghai Shenhua club chairman Zhu Jun is quoted in Shanghai Daily, saying: "We started to talk about every detail from the first minute of the negotiations. The whole contract is made up of details. It's comprehensive and complicated, involving the player's image and the commercial cooperation."
Media officer Ma Yue has confirmed: "There'll be news very soon. In five days, we'll definitely have news on whether it is yes or no."
Regarding the length of deal, Ma added: "In England or other European countries, his age might be considered quite advanced. But the football level is not as high here. We don't think it's any problem for him to play for another three years."

ANELKA'S £86.8m TRANSFERS

• Feb 97: Arsenal (£0.5m)
• Aug 99: Real Madrid (£22.3m)
• Jul 00: PSG (£22m)
• Jun 02: Man City (£12m)
• Jan 05: Fenerbahce (£7m)
• Aug 06: Bolton (£8m)
• Jan 08: Chelsea (£15m)

He also told Shanghai Daily that the club has held "deep talks" with Anelka's agent, his brother Claude.
According to Ma, the arrival of Tigana could be a factor in whether Anelka agrees terms. Tigana is expected in Shanghai next week and is planning to bring his own assistants.
The Chinese club was previously called Shanghai Football Club but, in 1993, was re-organised and became a professional football Club. Since then, they have won two titles but finished 11th out of 16 teams last season.
In May, Chelsea hired the agency ECN Management to market high-profile players in China and raise their global profile.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez charged by FA over hand gesture

 

Suarez raised the middle finger on his left hand as he left the pitch 

 

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association over an allegedly abusive hand gesture during the 1-0 defeat at Fulham on Monday.

Suarez appeared to raise the middle finger of his left hand towards the home fans as he left the pitch.
Liverpool have also been charged with failing to control their players after the dismissal of Jay Spearing.
The club said they would review the FA documentation before making comment.
Suarez and Liverpool have until 1600 GMT on Monday 12 December to respond to both charges.
Uruguay star Suarez is now the subject of two FA disciplinary cases.
Last month, he was charged with racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Manchester United in October.
The latest incident occurred at the end of a damaging defeat for the Reds, during which Suarez was subjected to chants of "cheat" from sections of the home crowd.

Liverpool deserved something - Dalglish

They barracked the player for what they saw as him going down too easily in an attempt to win penalties and free-kicks.
After the match, Reds boss Kenny Dalglish said he had not seen the picture of the hand gesture. "If [it] is true then I've a decision to make," the Scot added.
Dalglish defended the striker over accusations of diving and described the taunts as "scandalous".
He added: "At the end of the day, we will look after Luis the best we can and I think it is about time he got a bit of protection from some people."
The charge against Liverpool concerns the reaction of their players to Spearing's controversial second-half sending-off.

• Jay Spearing became the third Liverpool player to see red this season in the Premier League - with all having been in London

Five players including Spearing surrounded referee Kevin Friend after he showed the midfielder a straight red for a foul on striker Moussa Dembele with his follow-through after a tackle, having initially won the ball.
The dismissal came after 71 minutes, with the score at 0-0, before Clint Dempsey's late winner sealed victory for Fulham to move them 13th in the league.
Dalglish added: "It is frustrating because nobody tells us what the level of acceptance is. Jay had no other thought on his mind other than to win the ball - and he did win it."
Spearing will miss Liverpool's next three matches after the Reds opted not to appeal against the sending-off.